Shut-off valve for cementitious pressure vessels



G. M. PRO

May 21, 1963 SHUT-OFF VALVE FOR CEMENTITIOUS PRESSURE VESSELS 2Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec.

INVENTOR, George M. pro l ,j `7/ A T To RNE y M M NSN..

May 21, 1963 G. M. PRO 3,090,593

SHUT-OFF VALVE F OR CEMENTITIOUS PRESSURE VESSELS Filed Deo. 18, 1958 2Sheets-Sheet 2 353 11h-MMIII' "WW1 438 442 f /1 f\ i i i I- l 454 Il,47/

0 1 4 1 4 477 492 456 4@ 473 Fag.5.

INVENTOR.

3,998,593 SHUT-OFF VALVE FR CEMENTITIOUS PRESSURE VESSELS George M. Pro,Leawood, Kans., assigner to Air Piacement Equipment Company, KansasCity, Mo., a corporation oi Missouri Filed Dec. 18, 1958, Ser. No.781,322 2 Claims. (Cl. 251-87) Letters Patent 2,949,275, issued August16, 1960, en-

titled, Valve Mechanism for Cement Gunning Machines,

A it being a primary object of the instant invention to improve uponthel valve mechanism therein disclosed and claimed.

While the valve mechanism of the above-mentioned Iapplication has provedsatisfactory in all respects, it has been found that the principlesthereof might be effected equally well through Various other meanshaving the additional advantages of ease of construction, simplicity,reduced costs of manufacture, long lasting and ease of re- `pair, themost important object of the instant invention `therefore consisting ofthe provision `of such attributes in a shut-oft" valve embodying thebroad principles of my previous disclosure.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide ashut-off valve for Cementitious pressure vessels having a shaft mountingfor the valve itself which extends into the vessel at one point only,thereby eliminating the necessity of completely traversing the Vesselwith `the shaft as in my prior invention, and making it possible toprovide a floating arrangement for `the valve toward its seat underinfluence of the pressure Within the vessel in a manner differing fromthe reciprocahle and rectilinear movement of the valve disclosed in thesaid application above identified.

Still another important object of lthe present invention is -to providea shut-o valve that is mounted in a m-anner to permit its swingingmovement 4toward and away from `the seat to the end that the pressure inthe vessel acts on the Valve and -holds the same properly sealed withrespect to the resilient seat adjacent the inlet port of the pressureAhopper.

4In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a vertical, cross-sectional view through a gunning machineshowing one type of shut-off valve made pursuant to the presentinvention and illustrating one of such valves closed, with the othervalve open.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary, `ver-tical, cross-sectional view taken at right`angles to FIG. 1 and showing the upperrnost valve in a closed position.

FIG. 3 is a View similar to FIG. 2 illustrating a modied form of theinvention.

FIG. v4 is a view similar FIGS. and 3 showing still i another embodimentof the instant invention; and

FIG. 5 isa view similar to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 and depicting still anotherform of the instant invention.

The machine shown byFIGS. 1 'and 2 ofthe drawings and chosen forillustration of one form of valve or closure mechanism of the instantinvention, consists of three conical hoppers 96, 92. and 94 superimposedand in communicating relationship. Hoppers Y92 and 94 are provided withdome-shaped tops 96 and 98, respectively,

that are in turn provided with inlet ports and 102, re-

(s spectively, and the lowermost open ends of hoppers 90 and 92 registerdirectly with ports 100 and 102, respectively.

The lowermost hopper 94 is provided with a stationary shelf 1494, and afeed wheel 106 together with an agitator 108 are operably mounted on adriving stud 110. The stud 110 is in turn attached to a shaft 112emanating from a gear Ibox 114 and rotated by a suitable prime moversuch as an air motor 116. Cementitious materials within the hopper 94are delivered to a position beneath the shelf 164 and thence into adischarge 118.

Compressed air is directed to the system through a pipe coupled with asuitable source of air pressure (not shown) through pressure regulatorsand the like, which compressed air flows through a Valve 122 when thelatter is opened and thence through a hose 124 to the discharge 11S, andfinally through a material-receiving hose, not shown, to the atmospherefor high velocity placement of the material on any surface to be coatedtherewith.

Compressed air also enters the hopper 92 through `a valve 126 when thelatter is opened, and into the hopper `94 through la pipe 128. An outletpipe 130 communicating with the hopper 92 exhausts the system ofcompressed air upon opening of a control valve 132. The material to hehandled through use of a machine of this type is initially fed into theopen top hopper 90.

rThe valving or closing mechanisms broadly designated by the numerals134 and 136 for ports 100 and l102, respectively, are identical andtherefore the same identifying numerals will hereinafter be employed anddifferentiated by use of the letter a with respect to the componentparts of valve mechanism 136. 'Valve head 138 consists of a segment of ahollow sphere presenting therefore a convex uppermost surface thatcooperates with a seat or seal 142 to close lthe port 100 when valvehead 138 is in the position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of thedrawings.

A ring 144 mounted on the innermost face of top 96 -of hopper 92 inconcentric relationship to the port 100 has a frusto conical innermostedge 146 provided with a circular groove 148 that is semicircular orslightly greater than semicircular in cross-sectional configuration forreceiving the seal 142. Seal 142 is in the nature of a continuouscircular O-ring of compressible material such as rubber and remainsseated Within the groove 148 Without need of additional-attachment'thereof to the ring 144.

Consequently, when the seal 142 becomes sufficiently worn to requirereplacement it can easily be slipped from place and a new seal or seat142 snapped into place within the groove 148.

The diameter of the sealing member 142 should he slightlyless than thediameter of the valve head 138 at its circular peripheral edge 150 sothat the valve head 138 engages the sealing member 142 throughout thelength of the latter when the valve head 138 is closed. ln such positionthe valve head 138 extends upwardly into the ring 144 sincethe diameterof the sealing member 142 is greater than the minimum diameter of ring144 and the diameter of port 1418.

`Valve head 138 is carried by a shaft 152 having a horizontal component153 and a lateral extension 155 integral with one end of the component153 and disposed Within the hopper 92. A handle 154 secured rigidly tothe shaft 152 exteriorly of the hopper 92 is manually manipulable torotate the component 153 of shaft 152 and the extent of swingingmovement kof handle 154 may he limited through use of any suitable stops(not shown).

The portion 153 of shaft 152 is carried by a pair of spaced hearings 156and 157, bearing 156 being secured to hopper 92 and bearing 157 forminga part of a bracket 158 extending laterally from the outer surface ofhopper 92.

A set collar 159 on the shaft 152 cooperates with handle 154 inpreventing the portion 153 from reciprocating horizontally. A iiuidtight seal 169 carried by the bearing member 156 tightly surrounds thehorizontal component 153 of shaft 152.

A substantially U-shap'ed arm 162 within the hopper 92 ,has a leg 161 atone end thereof that is tightly fitted within a tubular stud 164 forminga part of the valve head 1373. Another Vshort leg 163 at'the oppositeend of the arm 162 couples with the free end of the lateral extension155 ythrough the medium of a pivotpin 165.

1t is thus seen that when the valve head 13S is closed it is adapted toswing with the arm 162 toward and away from theV seal 142. The extent ofinward swinging movement of the Valve head 133 is limited, however, by apin 166 that is threaded in a boss 167 integral with the arm 162. Oneend of the pin or bolt 156 bears against .the lateral extension 155 anda lock nut 163 on the bolt 166 holds the latter in selected positions,thereby permitting adjustment.

In normal operation valve head 13S is `closed and valve head 13311 isopen as illustrated in FG. l. Valves 122 and 126 are both open and theexhaust valve 132 is closed. Under such conditions the hoppers 92 and 4-are pressurized equally and the valve head 138 is held tightly sealedagainst its seat 142 by'such pressure within the system.

. Material within the hopper 94 is fed to beneath the shelf 134 byagitator 168 and in turn fed to the discharge 118 by feeder 1% uponoperation of the prime mover 116. Such material is forced from thedischarge 11S to the material handling hose aforementioned by airpressure Within Ythe hose 124, it being understood that 'the latter isoperably coupled with such material feeding hose.

VYWhile the valve head 138 is thus closed, additional material whichconsists or" sand, cement and the like may be fed into the hopper 9'@and ultimately fed to the hoppers 92 and94 in the following manner, allwithout interrupting the continued placement thereof on surfaces beingcoated therewith.

Valve head la is rst moved to the closed position seated against itsseal' 142:1 by manipulation of the handle 154:1. Thereupon the valve 126is closed and the valve 132 is opened to exhaust the air pressure fromhopper 92. Pressure is maintained in the hopper 94 by virtue of the pipe12S communicating with pipe 120 andV such pressure within the hopper 94acts upon the valve head 133:1 to hold the latter sealed tightly againstthe seat 142.

The valve head 138 is thereupon opened by swinging the handle 154. Thematerial in hopper 90 is thereby permitted to drop into the hopper 92whereupon the Valve head 138 has again moved to the position engagingseat 142 and closing port 1th).

Thereupon the operator closes valve 132 and opens the valve 125 therebyequalizing the pressure within hoppers 92 and 94 and causing the valvehead 138 to seat tightly against the seal 142. The handle 154:1 maythereupon be again manipulated to open the valve head 138:1. Thematerial within the hopper 92 then drops through the port 102 and intothe hopper 94.

It is particularly notable that the valve heads 138 and 138:1 may beswung to and from their closed positions without the necessity ofwaiting until the respective hoppers are clear of the cementitiousmaterials. They act as slide valves and the relatively sharp peripheraledges 159 and 15611 thereof effectively cut or slide through thematerial without appreciable resistance. It

' is unnecessary to exercise care in maintaining the valve Y mechanismsclean before closing in order to avoid leakage. The smooth, slick,convex surfaces 149 and 149:1 cooperating with the resilient seats 142and 142:1 eectively prevent lodgment of the particles ofthe materialsbetween the seats and the valves such as to prevent the establishment ofan airtight closure for the ports 160 and 102.

The extent of drag or frictional engagement between the Surfaces 149 and14%:1 and their seats 142 and 142:1 may be adjusted by manipulation ofthe bolts and 166:1 thereby limiting the extent of swinging movement ofthe valves and their arms 152 away from the seats 42 and 142:1. Afteradjustment the lock nuts 168 and 16311 may be tightened to hold the pins166 and 16611. These pins or bolts have no eect, however, upon the freeswinging movement of the valves toward their corresponding seats 142 and142er. Therefore, when the hoppers 92 and 94 are pressurized, the valveswill be forced tightly into closed positions as above indicated.

Since there is no .differential pressure upon the valve heads 138 and138:1 during manipulation thereofto and from their closed positions theywill slide through the material with respect to the seals 142 and 14211without difficulty.

In the form of my invention illustrated in FIG. 3 the horizontalcomponent 253 of shaft 252`is rotatably mounted in the same manner asabove described with respect to shaft 152 in FiGS. 1 and 2. Theinnermost end of the shaft 252 is provided with a resilient,substantially U-sh'aped loop 255 that is integral with the horizontalportion 253 and provided with an arm 262 that is substantially parallelwith the horizontal portion 253. A short leg 251 integral with the arm252 and extending laterally therefrom is affixed to the valve head V233in the same manner as indicated in PEG. 1 of the drawings.

It can therefore be seen that by virtue of the inherent resihency of the.shaft 252and particularly the loop 255 thereof, valve head :238 is freeto move toward the re-V silient seat 242 in response to the internalpressure within hopper 292. As such pressure tends to swing the valvehead 238 toward the seat 242 when the valve 233 is closed arm 262 swingsaway from the horizontal portion 253 of shaft 252 as the bight of theloop 255 r'iexes.

in FiG. 4 of the drawings lthere is illustrated still anotherarrangement permitting liexing of valve head 338 with respect tohorizontal component 353 of shaft 352. 1n this embodiment the shaft 352is provided with a lateral extension 355 and it is -to the innermost endof the extension 355 that valve head 333 is operably ate tached.

'V'alve head 338 has two components 339 and 341, the former of which ismade from essentially non-resilient material and has Vattachment`directly and rigidly to the proximal endof the lateral extension 355.The portion 341 of the valve head 33S is, however, made from resilientmaterial such as rubber and is affixed to the portion 331l in anysuitable manner. The resilient portion 341 surrounds the tubular boss351 of valve portion 339 into which the lateral extension 355V extendsas above described and illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings.

The rigid part 339 of valve head 338 does not engage `seat 342 when thelvalve head 338 is closed as shown in FIG. 4; instead, it is disposedwithin the ring 344, per- -mitting only the disc-like resilient portion341 to engage the seat 342. By such arrangement the portion 341 of theValve head 338 is free -to flex with respect to the Vlateral extension355 toward and away from the seat 342.

Accordingly, the internal pressure within hopper 392 will effectivelyhold the valve portion 341 seated tightly against 'the Vresilient `seal342. The top portion 33% of the valve head 33S `serves to limit theextent of upward swinging movement of the valve portion 341 underiniuence of the ypressure within the hopper 392.

mounted within a resilient collar 469 that is in turn housed within asleeve 471 rigidly secured to hopper 492.

A self-aligning bearing 457 l'for shaft portion 453 is disposed betweenhandle 454 and set coilar 459. Bracket 45t; on hopper 492 carries ablock 473 provided with a socket 475 within which the bearing 457 isfree to swing. Fasteners 477 attaching the block 473 to the bracket 45Spass through enlarged openings 479 in the block 473, thereby permittingadiustment of the bearing as block 473 is shifted relative to thebracket 45e when the fasteners 477 are loosened.

1n this embodiment of the invention it is apparent that the valve head43S is free to swing toward and away from the seat 442 since thehorizontal component o shaft 452 can shift in all directions aspermitted by the resilient collar 469. Component 453 oi shaft 452actually vswings during such movement of the valve head 438 bccause ofthe fact that the bearing 457 is adapted to rotate within its socket475. lere again, the internal pressure within the hopper 492 willmaintain the valve head 43's tightly against the seat 442 as sleeve 469and bearing 457 permit the shaft 452 to swing upwardly in response tothe said internal pressure in hopper 492.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine for handling particulate material, the combination of apressure hopper for said material having a material inlet port and anannular seat in the hopper adjacent the port; a valve in the hopper'having a convex outer face shaped substantially in conformity with asector of a sphere, said outer face normally bearing against `the seatin closing relationship to the port; a shaft carried by the hopper forrotation relative thereto about an axis `spaced from said port; an arm;and means mounting said arm on -said shaft for movement relative to thelatter, lsaid arm being secured to the valve for moving the latter alonga circular path to and from a position clearing and thereby opening theport as the shaft is rotated, said arm being swingable relative to theshaft about an 4axis disposed angnlarly with respect to the axis of rotation of the shaft and in a direction to move said valve toward theseat when the valve is closed, whereby pressure in the hopper holds thevalve tightly against the seat,

said seat being resilient whereby material becoming lodged between theseat and `the valve when the latter is closed is pressed into the seatby said pressure in the hopper acting on the valve, thereby maintaininga seal around the seat.

2. in a machine for handling particulate material, the combination of apressure hopp-er for said material having a material inlet port and anannular seat in the hopper adjacent the port; a valve in the hopperhaving a convex outer face shaped substantially in coniorrnity'with asector of a sphere, said outer face normally bearing `against the seatin closing relationship to the port; a `shaft carried by the hopper forrotation relative thereto about an axis spaced from said port; an arm;means mounting said arm on said shat for movement relative to thelatter, said arm being secured to the valve for moving the latter alonga circular path to and from a position opening the port as the shaft isrotated, said arm being swingable relative to the shaft in a directiontoward the seat when the valve is closed, whereby pres-Sure in thehopper holds the valve tightly against the seat, said seat beingresilient whereby material becoming lodged between the seat and thevalve when the latter is closed is pressed into the seat by saidpressure in the hopper acting on the valve, thereby maintaining a sealaround the seat, said shaft having a lateral extension receiving thearm; and adjustable means between the arm and the extension limiting theextent of movement of the valve away from the seat.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS956,704 Hepler May 3, 1910 1,378,555 OSullivan May 17, 1921 1,784,381OStroske Dec. 9, 1930 2,073,112 Lindinger Mar. 9, 1937 2,315,031 WiegandMar. 30, 1943 2,539,559 Ward Ian. 30, 1951 2,732,107 Ridley Jan. 24,1956 2,949,275 Pro Aug. 16, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 134,312 Sweden Jan. 22,1952

1. IN A MACHINE FOR HANDLING PARTICULATE MATERIAL, THE COMBINATION OF APRESSURE HOPPER FOR SAID MATERIAL HAVING A MATERIAL INLET PORT AND ANANNULAR SEAT IN THE HOPPER ADJACENT THE PORT; A VALVE IN THE HOPPERHAVING A CONVEX OUTER FACE SHAPED SUBSTANTIALLY IN CONFORMITY WITH ASECTOR OF A SPHERE, SAID OUTER FACE NORMALLY BEARING AGAINST THE SEAT INCLOSING RELATIONSHIP TO THE PORT; A SHAFT CARRIED BY THE HOPPER FORROTATION RELTIVE THERETO ABOUT AN AXIS SPACED FROM SAID PORT; AN ARM;AND MEANS MOUNTING SAID ARM ON SAID SHAFT FOR MOVEMENT RELATIVE TO THELATTER, SAID ARM BEING SECURED TO THE VALVE FOR MOVING THE LATTER ALONGA CIRCULAR PATH TO AND FROM A POSITION CLEARING AND THEREBY OPENING THEPORT AS THE SHAFT IS ROTATED SAID ARM BEING SWINGABLE RELATIVE TO THESHAFT ABOUT AN AXIS DISPOSED ANGULARLY WITH RESPECT TO THE AXIS OFROTATION OF THE SHAFT AND IN A DIRECTION TO MOVE SAID VALVE TOWARD THESEAT WHEN THE VALVE IS CLOSED, WHEREBY PRESSURE IN THE HOPPER HOLDS THEVALVE TIGHTLY AGAINST THE SEAT, SAID SEAT BEING RESILIENT WHEREBYMATERIAL BECOMING LODGED BETWEEN THE SEAT AND THE VALVE WHEN THE LATTERIS CLOSED IS PRESSED INTO THE SEAT BY SAID PRESSURE IN THE HOPPER ACTINGON THE VALVE, THEREBY MAINTAINING A SEAL AROUND THE SEAT.